


Knights and Beasts Make for Good Stories

by Maxil_Gal



Category: The Yogscast
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Magical Realism, References to Illness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-05-27 16:55:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6292462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maxil_Gal/pseuds/Maxil_Gal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He couldn’t call out, as if he had forgotten how speech worked, but she kept walking, and kept singing. He couldn’t see her face but he could just tell that her beauty was beyond comparison...just somehow. And then, just as quickly as she appeared, she was gone. Disappeared into the morning mist, and Strife couldn’t follow her anymore.<br/>________________________________________________________________________________________<br/>Strife is a mechanic in the human village of Strathmore. He usually stays out of the way of Magic Folk, but one day a strange and beautiful fae woman offers him a job at the Capital City.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Strife was toiling on the boiler, trying not to think about the blaring heat of the metal, when Parv dropped the wrench on his head. At first, Will was stunned from the sudden impact of black iron on his skull, but after blinking away the fuzzy dots he was miraculously healed and began chasing the pointy-eared pixie around the shop.

“I SHOULD HAVE THROWN YOU OFF THE DOCK!”

“You don’t mean that Strifey-kins! Look, my hands are all sweaty.”

“GAH! GET BACK HERE YOU...YOU…”

“Devilishly handsome scoundrel?” Parvis smirked at him, lounging on a beam holding up the second floor sturdily. Will’s face was red as his shirt as he jumped at the pixie. “Aww, Strifey. You know I didn’t mean it.”

“Get back to work then!” Strife’s voice was going into that squeaky way it usually got when he was shocked, or just plain irritated. “I’m not not paying you so you can lounge around on the rafters!”

“But don’t I deserve, I don’t know, minimum wage at least?”

“It’s called an internship, Parvis. I don’t have to pay you squat. Now come on, before I throw out your stupid gummy cookies.” He sullenly (or as close as you can get to sullen with Parv) hopped down and the two began work on the boiler again. After some shouting, they finally finished their job and Strife sat back, Black Hawk wrench clutched tightly in his fist. “That damn gaffer Sykes can’t keep this clean for squat. You’d think he’d at least get his damn son-of-a-fool kid to look after it.”

“Well it’s finished, can I  _ please _ go back to the front of the store?”

“You? Wanting to work? I’m surprised Parvis.”

“Don’t be. I’m expecting some lovely ladies to pay us a visit any day now.” Parv shot Will a crooked smiled and leapt up the ladder from their workshop into the main shop. The boss took a little more time to clean himself in the chipped basin at the far end of the room, and change into his clean suit. Once finished with his toiletries and such, he followed his partner upstairs. Their shop was covered in shelves with gears, oil cans, and all sorts of doohickeys and whatchamacallits. Strife-Solutions itself wasn’t more than the bottom half of a two story house in the human village of Strathmore, but Will was proud of his business, and proud of his ability to manage it. Parvis, on the other hand, had no interest in business at all. The only reason he worked for the human was because of a simple case of bets and favors. 

Parvis was indeed a Pixie, a netharian race of magical creatures that surrounded themselves in all things absurd and ludicrous, and had a certain air for chaos. This is what landed him in debt to the King of Clium Brar, the human kingdom across the sea. While Parv was visiting for one reason or another (he changed it every time he recounted the story), he was brought before the king and the pixie thought it would be fun to ridicule him in front of the entire court. He challenged the King to a game of Sligo, a netharian dice-game of chance and betting. Of course, Pixies cheat, and cheat a lot. Parvis mused that it was childishly easy, and said that the king would surely win against him if he had such good luck. The king asked for a bet, if he was so sure. Parvis easily obliged, but having no money offered his service instead. When he tried to cheat, the king used magic to favor him instead, and Parv lost. The King felt ever so sorry for him, and sent him back to his homeland to work his bet off with Strife, an old friend who owed the King a favor. Thus was the tale of the poor pixie Parvis.

When Strife reached the storefront, there were no customers in the shop, leaving Parvis sitting alone on the counter, snacking on those infamous gummy cookies he was always eating.

“Where do you even get those?”

“Ah. Wouldn’t you like to now,” Parv snickered waving a half bitten gelatin round in Will’s face. The blonde-haired man pushed it away in disgust.

“It smells like swamp muck.”

“Maybe to you. But to us, it smells like heaven, and sugar, and sweethearts from when you’re young.” He took another bite and moaned to himself. “And if you must now, Minty makes them.”

“Minty?”

“Yeah, she owns the Captive Creeper down in Berxforde.”

“I assume it’s a place for…” Strife stopped and turned to a small machine sitting on the wooden surface. Parv didn’t notice his stumble, or just chose to ignore it.

“I’m going down if you want. You should come.”

“Nah, I’ll look after the store if you don’t mind.” He shrugged and grabbed his coat, his brown, jagged wings flapping behind him ever so slightly. “Listen, store opens 9 a.m. tomorrow.”

“Ugh. You’re pulling my chain, Strife.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go on, get out of here.” Will rolled his eyes as the pixie winked and shot off into the dying light of the evening. That left him alone in the room he knew so well, with the last of the light bouncing away with Parv. The lamplighters slowly came out, and the oil lanterns hanging above Strathmore’s cobbled streets awoke like the stars above them. It made Strife ever so sleepy, and to keep himself awake, he thought of synonyms. “Drowsy, tired, languid,” he yawned out quietly, still determined to stay awake, “Somnolent, soporific, sluggish, lethar-” His mouth opened into another deaf roar as he dipped into his arms. It had only felt like a few seconds, but when it woke him, he felt saliva sticking to his face. Quickly rubbing it off, he looked out through the front windows to see a beautiful, young woman walking through the middle of the street. The clock above his head struck 3 a.m. Had he been asleep for so long? The woman in the street moved along fluidly, like a stream over rocks. Then, from her mouth came a deadly soft sound. She had begun singing. Strife couldn’t understand what she was saying, but it was beautiful...beautiful and sad. He flipped the sign on his door and followed her into the early morning mists.

He couldn’t call out, as if he had forgotten how speech worked, but she kept walking, and kept singing. He couldn’t see her face but he could just tell that her beauty was beyond comparison...just somehow. And then, just as quickly as she appeared, she was gone. Disappeared into the morning mist, and Strife couldn’t follow her anymore. That woman was something...strange. She was not human, not magic folk either. Something entirely different. He turned to return home, but before he took a step, he looked back as if expecting the woman to appear again. The only thing his senses could detect was someone singing something in the distance. Like a lullaby a mother would sing to send their children to sleep. Strife turned and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Back into his home, back into his bed, trying to forget the sight of the strange woman he saw.

Trying to forget the woman in black.

____________________________________________________________________________

“Strife! Strife wake up. Wake uuuuuup. Wake uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup.” Will blinked to see Parvis floating above his head. “I get myself up, and you’re the one sleeping in! If I wasn’t so sure about your ridiculous distaste for chaos, I’d think it was opposite day!”

“Shut up...It’s too early for your crap, Parvis.”

“It’s never too early for the Parvinator! Now come on, you’re going to be late.”

“Ugh...what time is it anyway?”

“8:55.”

“WHAT?!” Strife sat straight up and looked at his bedside clock. “Shit! Don’t just stand there, Parv! Start sweeping downstairs!” Will ran into his bathroom and realized he was still wearing his clothes from last night. Before he could remember about the experience, he shoved a toothbrush in his mouth and began scrubbing wildly. Mr. Squeaky, his rubber duck bathtime companion, stared at him, his snobbish beak turned up in disdain for Will’s poor punctuality. For being late, he still managed to be picky about his mundane wardrobe of dark vests and red shirts. 

“WILL! 8:58!”

“I KNOW,” Will shouted downstairs. He quickly pulled his legs through the pants and began buttoning up his vest. The clock struck 9, and Will had placed his glasses neatly on his head and marched downstairs. 

Parv was turning the sign over, and Will took his seat behind the register. Of course, the best mechanic shop in Strathmore always opened at 9 on the dot. And while there weren’t exactly lines around the block, waiting for them to open for business, it was the pride of the matter that kept Will shining the gears and organizing the oil cans so early in the morning. But on this day, Will was very glad he had opened so early.

Two young faes, one with half of her face covered in purple stain, and the other with the same dye over his eyes, came into his shop.

“Excuse me. Are you William Strife?” The woman was talking, and she pulled her cowl down to reveal a head full of hair the color of raven feathers, and bright brown eye shining next to the violet one beautifully. Strife felt his voice catch in his throat, and Parv gladly made up for his silence.

“Yes he is, and I’m Parvis. You might know me as the Parvinator, Chaos Pixie Extraordinaire. And you are?” He had dipped down and kissed her hand gently, and she couldn’t help but scrunch up her face and let out a screechy laugh.

“Stop that, Parvis. Everyone knows you. Or at least a part of you.”

“Filthy! Absolutely filthy, my dear!” Parv feigned shock as he floated up to the rafters and lounged on them dramatically. “A fair lady, soiled by such impurities!”

“Uh...Yes, I’m Will Strife.” He had finally managed to spit out his name to the two customers.

“Ok. I’m Nano. I’ve come from Khalead to ask for your assistance. You see, my lady, Queen Echo of the Corrupted, has a machine that refuses to work. Many of our engineers are busy on other projects, and you were…”

“The best on such short notice? Please, you flatter me.”

“The cheapest one,” she finished snarkily. Will sat straight up, flustered for a moment before returning to his cool atmosphere.

“I mean, yes, of course that too.” Strife reached under the counter and pulled out a clipboard. “What kind of machine is it? Usually people only come to us with boiler problems, engines, tractors…”

“An advanced extractor.” The blonde young man spoke now, a pair of goggles strapped to his head, keeping two circles of hair pushed down while the rest bounced off his head. He looked like he was just electrocuted. Strife whistled under his breath, looking through the papers on the board. “Do you know what it is?”

“Of course I do! I graduated from the Caelmeren School of Technology. Extractors are child’s play.” Strife was gathering some tools. “Sure, I’ll come around and take a look at it. When do you want me to shoot over?”

“Now, if you can.”

“Uhhhhh. Yeah. Yeah I think I can come and get back by 6.”

“You misunderstand. The Queen prefers having an Engineer around the clock. If you decide to accept our job, we will pay you handsomely, but you may not come back to Strathmore for at least a week.”

“I...but my shop.”

“Strife? Can I talk to you?” Parv pulled the human below the counter and began to whisper in a hushed and cold voice. “We really need the cash, man.”

“What do you mean!? We have at least two hundred riels.”

“Fifty.”

“What?”

“We have fifty riels.” 

“What? I counted them a couple of days ago.”

“Yeah, a couple of days ago before I went to Minty’s.”

“Goddamnit, Parvis.”

“Goddamnit you! Mr. ‘Oh I need another dark-shaded vest.’ At least I don’t have a personal tailor.”

“I need to look my best for the customers! I’m sorry you have the fashion sense of a chimera.”

“Uhm...Strife? Parvis?” The two popped, acting as normal as possible.

“One second please. We’re just talking about business.”

“The queen is ready to offer 1,000 riels for your work.” Parv’s eyes went as open as a doorway, thinking about all the cider he could buy with a thousand riels. They went back down to their conversation.

“Strife! A thousand riels! Come on, not even you are that stubborn.”

“A week, AT LEAST, Parv. What am I going to do when I’m not here? Who’s going to watch the shop? You? I’ve made my decision.” Parv looked dejectedly at the ground and then at Strife, his lip quivering. “Parvis, stop. Stop. No, stop it. Just...god I can’t stand you!” Will stood and faced the two faes. They were staring at him with a strange look in their eye, like they were seeing a bug-eyed fish do the tango. “I’ll take the job.”

“Good! We’ll be back tomorrow morning to pick you up and take you to Khalead. Please make sure you have everything you need.”

“Yeah…” Will looked around the room and then back at his intern. “What am I going to do with you Parvis.”

____________________________________________________________________________

"Well, then, I said. If they had wanted a unfashionable detective, they shouldn't have hired an in-vestigator." They managed to cough up a laughed, and Strife looked out at the forest. He almost never left Strathmore...and when he did it was just down to the river to watch the boats. “So, handmaiden to the queen, huh?”

“It’s not really a servant’s position.”

“Oh, should I be calling you Lady Nano then?”

“It wouldn’t hurt. I’m more of a ward of the court...if that makes sense.”

“Perfectly. So...what is this extractor for?”

“Do you need to know…” Nano crossed her legs and a small quarrier flew out from her bag. “Oh! Hi, Bob.”

“Bob? What does B.O.B stand for?”

“Nothing, he’s just named Bob. He looks like a Bob, doesn’t he?”

“It’s a...It doesn’t…”

“Oh, I did some configuring in his computer chip.”

“AI? Uh. I uh…”

“Oh, it’s automation, not super scary AI.” Bob chirped happily and whizzed above their heads. He whirred at Will before scooting back to Nano.

“Uh, nice to meet you too. And yes, I kind of need to know what you’re extracting, because you haven’t even told me what the problem with it is.

“It just won’t work. Kind of sputters to life, but the second you try and use it, it just makes clanking noises and fizzes.”

“Damn, let me get all this down.”


	2. Chapter 2

Khalead was west of Caelmere, in what the Humans called Iocreanys, the Outlands. It is where most magical creatures lived, and flourished without human interactions. A war in the old country left many magic folk and humans dead, and the two sides agreed not to declare war ever again, as it could prove disastrous for the world as a whole. So, the magic folk traveled across the land, and a handful of humans rebuilt their small kingdom from the fallen human empire of Brudor. It was renamed Caelmere, and the rest was history.

Of course, Humans tended to shy away from magical creatures, but Strife-Solutions was in desperate need for riels, and he was lightening up to these faes.

Faes were not much different than humans. They came in a variety of shapes and sizes, were not inherently magical and instead had to learn, did not have wings, didn’t shift into creatures, or even have magical qualities to their blood. The only thing that separated them was A) Their ears are pointed, and B) They were brought back to life by magic. Faes were once human, and it is hypothesised that humans that interact with large amounts of magic that isn’t Vis (the magic humans most associate with) are struck but a sudden, strange illness and die. That magic brings the Faes back to life, often giving them strange abilities, and no memories of their past life.

Will hadn’t thought about what would happen if he turned into a Fae. Most people didn’t. It distracted them from the present, from work, or from friends and family. And Strife was careful enough. He almost never left the Vis choked land of Caelmere...almost.

“Uh, how much longer until we get to Khalead?”

“Not much longer,” Nano replied jostling towards the front of the wagon. The trees overhead gave the ground a splotchy green look that make it look like a quilt. But slowly, the quilt began to get bigger, and bigger patches until they emerged from the forest into a large open plain of beige-green grass. Tents were put up for as far as the eye could see, but the two faes were not interested in that. They were waving and calling to people walking on the road. For a second, Strife thought they were humans. but on closer inspection, he saw their pointed ears, and some had skin the color of a night ocean. Others were bright violet, while some even resembled animals with human figures. One of them, a bipedial beat with strong, rippling muscles and scars over his snout, walked to their cart. His voice was gruff, like sandpaper on thick, sappy wood.

“Hmmph,” he said, looking over at Nano and her companion (who Strife still didn’t know the name of), “What brings two Flux Knights from Caelmere?”

“Fetching a mechanic for the Queen’s extractor, Teurjan.”

“Don’t the queen got some engineers that aren’...” He turned his muzzle towards Will, who was staring at Teurjan’s muscular body that looked like it could split logs.

“All on projects, Teurjan. You won’t have to worry about this one. I’ll keep my eye on him.” From Strife’s peripheral, he saw Nano give him a sly wink. The bear-guard shouldered his axe, slightly annoyed at the fae.

“Very well...Pass on. He makes any trouble…”

“He won’t, Teurjan! Have a good day.”

“And to you.” The iron gate in front of them slowly meandered up, allowing their small wagon to pass into Khalead. The city was huge, much bigger than Caelmere’s capital, Ofera. Giant buildings towered above their heads, while pixies and monsters and mages and faes crowded the streets. It was busy. It was dirty. It was chaotic. _It was beautiful_. The structures looked like they had been masterfully cut by gods, and the cobbled streets were worn down by the feet of millions of travellers. Will was astonished by the houses, by the stores, by the people. “Ha! I knew you’d like it.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Just look at you! If your mouth hangs any more open a bird might fly in and build a nest.” Strife’s mouth straightened into a pencil line, irritated by Nano’s laughing. “It is beautiful, though...I have to agree.”

“I...yeah. So uhm...who runs the city?”

“Elected officials.”

“Then why a queen?”

“Hahaha! Wow, you don’t really learn much about Magic Folk, huh?”

“No...not really.”

“Well, each queen, or king, rules over a set of races. My queen is for the Amaren, the Corrupted. They are really figureheads, but they can also be diplomats, advisors...they have a lot of power...for not having any power.”

“Makes sense. Why hold one man in power? Not logical.”

“Says the human.”

“Oh ho ho ho. Ok. I get it. Human, not welcome.”

“Welcome, just also subject to scrutiny.”

After a few minutes, Nano’s companion pulled them to a stable beside a huge looking house in the middle of the city. It was built of white, aged, stone, with iron railings the color of soot and windows, colorless and shining.

“This is the Queen’s Khalead home. She usually lives in her palace in the Rezeln Mountains, near a northern fjord, but business has brought her to Khalead for a few months. You may call me Lalna. I don’t know if you know that.” Strife nodded, glad _someone_ told him his name.

“Thanks, mind telling me what business?”

“No.”

“Ah, fair enough.” The two gave the reins to a stable-hand and led Strife into the castle.

“Down that way is the kitchens and servant dining room. To the left is the main hall. Up there is the Queen’s personal parlor, and you are forbidden from entering without invitation. The left and right are the personal rooms for guests, the servant’s rooms are accessible through the kitchen, and the third floor is the queen’s personal apartment. You may never go there.”

“Ok, which room is mine?” He looked down at the long hall of doorways.

“You’ll be sleeping in the engineering dorms.” Lalna smirked at Strife.

“Ah...where are those.” The pair led him through the busy kitchen, down a flight of stairs to a dimly lit tunnel, similar to the hallway of guest rooms, but dingier and looking like a poorly constructed train-car.

“These are the servant quarters, and this is your room.” Nano opened one of the doors and revealed a room with a signal light, a bunk bed, and two desks pushed against the other wall. It reminded Strife of a walk-in closet.

“Wow. Classy.”

“You’ll also be sharing with another person from the court.”

“I thought you said the engineers  were all busy.”

“They are.” Lalna pushed past him and hopped up to push something in the top bunk. It groaned and shifted before revealing a sleepy-eyed man.

“Why…”

“Because we got you a roommate.”

“This is Tom,” Nano said as she gestured to the slacked-face man sleeping on top. “He doesn’t...he doesn’t really…”

“I do enough, Nanosounds. Why don’t you...why don’t…” He slumped over the side and began snoring into his arm.

“Tom…”

“Wha? Right right. He can stay just...make sure he’s quiet.” They quietly tiptoed away from the room before continuing the conversation.

“Tom’s an Empath. Useful for the queen when...visitors come.” The man gave a shifty glance at Will before hurrying to Nano. Strife shrugged it off. Lalna wasn’t very warm towards him, he understood that at least. When finally reached the workshop, which was totally deserted, Strife felt his breath catch in the back of his throat. The walls were lined with shining tools, while brass pistons bristled in the low, dying light of the davy lamps hanging around the room. A furnace squatted in the corner of the room, cold from disuse. “You’ll be working here for the remainder of your stay.”

“Th-thank you,” Strife managed to stutter out as he gazed fondly at a set of pliers. Nano let out her signature screechy laugh at his gawking and sat on the end of one of the two long, oaken tables in the room.

“I’m glad you like it so much. Hey, it’s kind of late, want to come eat dinner with us?”

“I’d be delighted to join you.” Lalna’s lip twitched ever so gently when Nano invited Strife. Will’s eyes turned to him and they stared at each other for a few seconds. What did he think he saw in the fluxed face of Lalna? Hate? Disgust? It wasn’t long as Nano waved at the two to follow her back out the long corridor of rooms. “So...are we eating in the castle?”

“No, I think I’ll treat you.” Nano smirked at him as Lalna resumed his place beside her. After a few seconds, he burst out laughing from something she had said, that had just managed to slip out of Will’s range.

When they emerged from the castle grounds, the two faes grabbed his shirt and began pulling him through the throng of people. It was like a rainbow of people. One second he saw a large purple horse dashing down an alley, and then a man shift strangely to the size of a coin. Even after that, he was pulled through a clustered group by Nano to watch a pair of slithering gorgons dancing to a gargoyle’s tambourine. The two women dancing had the top half of human women, one with skin the color of tea and the other with a sickly white shade. The bottom halves were long tendrils that shivered with their movements. Strife watched in fascination as they curled and unfurled in rhythm. Then, Nano grabbed his hand (causing him to blush horribly) and pulled him towards a crowded, open air restaurant. It smelled of sweet spices and salty seafood, and Strife was sure his nose led him more than Nano did. They parked themselves into a booth, and Nano ordered three bowls of pistrarway noodles, a dish that Nano swore was the best meal in all of the Iocreanys. It did take Strife a few minutes to get used to the utensils, though.

“No, like this.”

“That is what I’m doing.”

“No, you’re floundering around like a baby Kappa. Like this.” She took his hand and placed the chopsticks into the correct positions.

“Ahhhhhh. This makes a lot more sense.” He took a large chunk of rice from his bowl and began chewing it greedily. Nano and Lalna both laughed at his puffed up cheeks, steaming slightly from the hot rice. When their noodles arrived, it only took a few tries for Strife to remember his lessons from Nano, and he slurped the noodles. They were eye-gouging levels of hot, which made his two chaperones howl. After two glasses of water and an order of milk, Strife finished his meal, eyes watering and nose running down his beet red face. “Holy shit…”

“Told you, best meal in the Iocreanys.”

Then they took Will around the Tawul District. It was filled with strange looking shops hidden in the cracks between buildings. They managed to haul him into one, covered in strange magical ingredients and paraphernalia. Lalna’s eyes shifted around the shop, landing on a man sitting behind a large desk.

“Teep Avrae Bazkoara…” The man (Strife didn’t know if he could really call him a ‘man’) growled in response and closed the book he had open before him. Scaly skin covered his body head to toe, and a long snout broke out away from his face like a lizard. Cold reptilian eyes the color of river sand watched him as Will nervously inspected a barrel of sparkling blue powder. “I’m here to pick up the Queen’s medicine.”

Teep made a strange gurgling noise before handing her a small leather bag and a scroll. For a second she looked at it before pocketing both into her tunic. Lalna glanced at the paper as well, but he just put down the strange skull he was inspecting and left the store. Nano and Will followed behind closely.

“Is the Queen sick?”

“No, she gets headaches very easily.”

“Oh, of course.” The wandered in silence before Strife cracked the attitude quickly. “I’ve never seen so many magic folk in one place before…You know Parv is always telling me to come down to the Captive Creeper with him but..I don’t know I just-”

“You should. We don’t mind humans. Really. Neutrals are like us just…” She stopped and looked up at the terrace above their heads. A small fairy with indigo hair was shouting something at them in a strange language. “Oh...oh! Oh dear.”

“What is it?”

“The Queen has requested our presence.”

“Oh? I wonder what it is.”

“You as well, Strife.”

“What?”

____________________________________________________________________________

The fairy had mussed over Will’s appearance so much he felt like he was in the nursery again. But finally, he passed all the needed checks and was courteously led into the parlor of the Queen.

Will didn’t know what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t what he saw. A beautiful tiefling with skin the color of lilacs in full bloom, with lips painted the shade of a rich wine. Her eyes were opaque but clear and precise, like opals peering at him from the heart of the mountain they were hewn from.

“William Strife,” she said, her voice hot and smooth like molten chocolate. Strife managed to fumble himself into a sort of lopsided bow and he could see her smile. Two rows of sharp, bone white teeth flashed as she lounged on a throne made from darkly colored silks and pillows. Two pawed armrests, claws shining from their gilded decoration, sat as the boundary of her mountainous seat. “My knight and handmaid have told me that you were capable enough. Am I correct?”

“Y-Yes ma’am.” She smiled again and pressed one of her talon like nails into the wood of her seat experimentally.

“Yes...A human,” She yawned, piercing the fibered wood even more before she finished her sentence, “scientist, who has studied at the universities, should hopefully find this child’s play…” Strife managed to glance up at her face. The two opal orbs dug into his body like daggers, cutting away bit by bit of him. “I’m glad to have met you, Mr. Strife.”

“Yes ma’am.” It hadn’t even been two minutes and he was already being shuffled out by the indigo haired fairy. Nano and Lalna appeared a few minutes later.

“Could have gone worse…” The burly goggled man said as he scratched his nose absent-mindedly.

“Most monarchs would have taken over your mind on the spot so...that’s something.”

“I felt her...in my head…” Strife let the words slip out before he could stop them. The faes glanced at each other nervously. “She was there it was like…”

“It’s not good if you dwell on it. She probably just wanted to make sure you weren’t a liability.” Nano pushed a stray hair to the side of her head, but Strife’s fists were clenched tightly, nails digging into his skin painfully.

“Is that what I am then, a liability? I get it.”

“Strife, no. Don’t be like. I didn’t mean-”

“You meant enough. I better get that stupid extractor running.” Then Strife began walking back towards the servants quarters, leaving them behind.


End file.
